5 Takeaways from the Indianapolis Colts Home Opener

The Indianapolis Colts welcomed the Philadelphia Eagles to Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday night. The first half of the game started the way that Pagano and Grigson had hoped this team would look like all season. Using an unbalanced offensive line to establish the run game and a defense that only allowed field goals, the Colts went to halftime in the lead 17-6.  Unfortunately, the rest of the game didn’t work out the way that the Colts had hoped; the Eagles ended up taking the game on a last second field goal by a score of 30-27. Even though the Colts lost, there are still positives that can be found in this game and in this article I will discuss five takeaways from the Indianapolis Colts’ home opener.

1) Pass rush is still missing

Part of the reason that the Eagles were able to complete their comeback was a lack of pressure on quarterback Nick Foles. At the start of the game, Foles was rushing some throws, but as the game went on, the Colts continued to struggle to pressure the quarterback and Foles got comfortable.  Bjoern Werner continued his struggles from Week One, but was at least able to force his first pressure of the season. The play came on a screen pass to the running back on the other side of the field, but Werner showed a good burst along with an ability to disengage and dipped his shoulder to get around the tackle. Plays like this are an encouraging sign for Werner, but he must step up even more. Erik Walden was also able to show some pass rushing ability in this game, but he was facing off against a third string tackle. I would like to see him be able to produce more against starting quality players. With such poor safeties in coverage, the pass rush will be needed to help get quarterbacks off their game if this Colts defense wants to succeed.

2) Andrew Luck is having some struggles

Andrew Luck has had moments in each of the first two games when he looks like one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. He also has had some stretches when he looks off his game and more like an average middle-of-the-pack player. Against the Eagles, Luck had a rough start to the game, and was unable to do much passing the ball. In the end of the third quarter he picked up his play, and was mostly incredible through the rest of the night. With the way that this roster is constructed, Luck will need to play closer to the way he did in the fourth quarter throughout the entire game. While Luck did not play bad enough to be the reason the Colts lost, he still needs to play better for this roster to win many games.

3) Bad Calls happen

The Indianapolis Colts were looking to get closer to putting away Monday’s game, when on third down a horrible missed holding (some people say pass interference) call  led to an interception. T.Y. Hilton was coming out of his break and while he may not have gotten the first down on that throw, the throw also would not have been picked off. At the very least, the Colts would attempt a field goal, which would put them up enough scores, that the Eagles final field goal would have been for the tie. The unfortunate part about needing refs, is that they sometimes miss calls and as a team, you have to overcome those missed calls. The Colts were unable to do that, and lost themselves the game.

4) Is Pagano more aggressive?

Last week against the Broncos the Colts had a fourth and one on the opponent’s side of the field, and Pagano decided to attempt a field goal. This week, closer to the end zone, the Colts decided to go for it on fourth down. The result was an Andrew Luck touchdown pass to reward the Colts for going for it. This was a great sight to see, because throughout his time as a head coach, Pagano has been very conservative. However, some of the optimism from that decision was taken back when on the Colts final possession Chuck decided to run the ball on the first two downs. I am not against running the ball in general, but when you have Andrew Luck as your quarterback you have to give him more than one opportunity get a first down.

5) The Colts are who we thought they were

After two weeks of the season, my opinion on the Colts has not changed. This is a playoff team, which is aided by playing in the weak AFC South. The Colts want to believe they are in the top tier of NFL teams, but the truth is that they are just a level below for now. The roster has too many holes to constantly overcome better opponents; the coaches make questionable decisions which hurt the team and Andrew Luck cannot be perfect every week. My prediction for this team is the same as the end of the season and that is to be AFC South Champions, win the wild card game and then lose in the divisional round.